Cultural poetics of illness and healing.

This issue of Transcultural Psychiatry presents selected papers from the McGill Advanced Study Institute on "Cultural Poetics of Illness and Healing." The meeting addressed the cognitive science of language, metaphor, and poiesis from embodied and enactivist perspectives; how cultural affordances, background knowledge, discourse, and practices enable and constrain poiesis; the cognitive and social poetics of symptom and illness experience; and the politics and practice of poetics in healing ritual, psychotherapy, and recovery. This introductory essay outlines an approach to illness experience and its transformation in healing practices that emphasizes embodied processes of metaphor as well as the social processes of self-construal and positioning through material and discursive engagements with the cultural affordances that constitute our local worlds. The approach has implications for theory building, training, and clinical practice in psychiatry.

Experimentalismo Brabo, art, and culture in territories of exclusion: an interview with Leo Salo.

This interview with Leo Salo aims to understand how methods to foster interaction in excluded territories were created through the active listening of the community in actions developed as part of the Passeio Brabo project, designed to highlight the work undertaken in Rio de Janeiro's Manguinhos community. With its clown parades, Experimentalismo Brabo endeavors to apprehend the realities of the community by listening to its demands inside its own territory, alleys, and favelas, reaching out to the homes and individuals in the community space to create environments for interaction, active listening, and collaboration.

A entrevista com Leo Salo busca compreender a criação dos instrumentos de interação no território, promovidos por ações de escuta da comunidade por meio do projeto Passeio Brabo, com o intuito de trazer os trabalhos desenvolvidos na comunidade de Manguinhos, no Rio de Janeiro. As ações do grupo Experimentalismo Brabo procuram, por meio dos cortejos de palhaçaria, apreender realidades da comunidade pela escuta de suas demandas, que ocorrem dentro do território, dos becos e das favelas, chegando às casas e às pessoas no espaço de favela, a fim de criar cenários de interação, escuta e colaboração.

Machine culture.

The ability of humans to create and disseminate culture is often credited as the single most important factor of our success as a species. In this Perspective, we explore the notion of 'machine culture', culture mediated or generated by machines. We argue that intelligent machines simultaneously transform the cultural evolutionary processes of variation, transmission and selection. Recommender algorithms are altering social learning dynamics. Chatbots are forming a new mode of cultural transmission, serving as cultural models. Furthermore, intelligent machines are evolving as contributors in generating cultural traits-from game strategies and visual art to scientific results. We provide a conceptual framework for studying the present and anticipated future impact of machines on cultural evolution, and present a research agenda for the study of machine culture.

How Culture Impacts Health: The Hispanic Narrative.

The Hispanic population is the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States, and is disproportionately impacted by health problems, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and unintentional injuries. Factors contributing to these disparities include cultural practices, lack of access to health care, language barriers, and a lack of cultural competence by health-care providers. Family, religion, and gender roles play an essential part in the cultural heritage of Hispanic people, which heavily impacts health outcomes in this population. Nurses must be knowledgeable about the impact of culture on health to dismantle racial/ethnic health disparities and deliver equitable and high-quality care to individuals, families, and communities. This narrative aims to introduce some fundamental cultural factors and beliefs in the Hispanic culture that impact health. It also seeks to provide insights into culturally sensitive practices, to promote quality nursing care and address health disparities within this population.

Schizophrenia: jinn, magic or disease? Experiences of family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Baloch ethnicity.

BACKGROUND: Cultural and religious beliefs are effective on people's attitudes towards schizophrenia and their help-seeking behaviors. This study aimed to explain the experiences of family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Baloch ethnicity. METHODS: This is a qualitative study with conventional content analysis approach. Purposive sampling was used and 21 participants, including family caregiver for patients with schizophrenia, a psychologist, a prayer-writer, and a normal person were interviewed in Sistan and Balochistan province in the southeast of Iran. Qualitative data were analyzed by Granheim and Lundman method. RESULTS: One main theme, three categories, and 10 Sub-categories were extracted from analysis of interviews. "Immersion in the cultural beliefs" was the main theme of the study with categories of "Belief in the superstitious and supernatural nature of the psychological disease", "Superstitious beliefs, an attempt to free the patient", and "Conflict between cultural beliefs and science". CONCLUSIONS: Help-seeking behaviors of family caregivers in Baloch ethnicity are influenced by their religious, superstitious, and cultural beliefs. Psycho-education should be part of all mental health education programs in these communities, as delays in treatment worsen the prognosis of people with schizophrenia. Training the medical staff to consider the culture, religion and therapeutic preferences of the Baloch people can be effective in advancing the goals. In addition, local influencers should stress the importance of health care alongside harmless local remedies.

Exploring cross-cultural variations in visual attention patterns inside and outside national borders using immersive virtual reality.

We examined theories of cross-cultural differences in cognitive style on a sample of 242 participants representing five cultural groups (Czechia, Ghana, eastern and western Turkey, and Taiwan). The experiment involved immersive virtual environments consisting of two salient focal objects and a complex background as stimuli, which were presented using virtual reality headsets with integrated eye-tracking devices. The oculomotor patterns confirmed previous general conclusions that Eastern cultures have a more holistic cognitive style, while Western cultures predominantly have an analytic cognitive style. The differences were particularly noticeable between Taiwan and the other samples. However, we found that the broader cultural background of each group was perhaps just as important as geographical location or national boundaries. For example, observed differences between Eastern (more holistic style) and Western Turkey (more analytic style), suggest the possible influence of varying historical and cultural characteristics on the cognitive processing of complex visual stimuli.

High-Content Screening of Synaptic Density Modulators in Primary Neuronal Cultures.

The synapse, which represents the structural and functional basis of neuronal communication, is one of the first elements affected in several neurodegenerative diseases. To better understand the potential role of gene expression in synapse loss, we developed an original high-content screening (HCS) model capable of quantitatively assessing the impact of gene silencing on synaptic density. Our approach is based on a model of primary neuronal cultures (PNCs) from the neonatal rat hippocampus, whose mature synapses are visualized by the relative localization of the presynaptic protein Synaptophysin with the postsynaptic protein Homer1. The heterogeneity of PNCs and the small sizes of the synaptic structures pose technical challenges associated with the level of automation necessary for HCS studies. We overcame these technical challenges, automated the processes of image analysis and data analysis, and carried out tests under real-world conditions to demonstrate the robustness of the model developed. In this article, we describe the screening of a custom library of 198 shRNAs in PNCs in the 384-well plate format. © 2023 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Culture of primary hippocampal rat neurons in 384-well plates Basic Protocol 2: Lentiviral shRNA transduction of primary neuronal culture in 384-well plates Basic Protocol 3: Immunostaining of the neuronal network and synaptic markers in 384-well plates Basic Protocol 4: Image acquisition using a high-throughput reader Basic Protocol 5: Image segmentation and analysis Basic Protocol 6: Synaptic density analysis.

Valuing indigenous quality of life: A review of preference-based quality of life instruments and elicitation techniques with global older indigenous populations.

Indigenous perspectives of quality of life (QoL) are different to that of non-Indigenous populations. Determining how to identify and value what is important to QoL for people from diverse cultural backgrounds is crucial for assessing effective outcomes for quality assessment and health economic evaluation to guide evidence-based decision making. This is particularly important for older Indigenous people who have complex care and support needs within health and aged-care systems. This scoping review aims to assess the existing literature in this field by firstly identifying preference based instruments that have been applied with older Indigenous peoples and secondly, exploring the extent to which existing preference based instruments applied with older Indigenous peoples encompass older Indigenous peoples QoL perspectives in their design and application. The inclusion criteria for the review were studies using preference based QoL instruments with an Indigenous population where the cohort was aged 50 years or over. This resulted in the critical analysis of 12 studies. The review identified that preference based QoL instruments have rarely been applied to date with older Indigenous populations with most instruments found to be designed for non-Indigenous adults. Typically, instruments have not incorporated Indigenous worldviews of QoL into either the content of the descriptive system or the elicitation techniques and corresponding value sets generated. To encapsulate Indigenous cultural perspectives accurately in economic evaluation, further research is required as to how QoL domains in preference based instruments for Indigenous peoples can be reflective of Indigenous perspectives. It is imperative that the QoL preferences of older Indigenous peoples are adequately captured within preference based QoL instruments applied with this population.

Characteristics of Recurrent Visions of the Nonphysical World Among Cognitively Unimpaired Elders of the Ojibwe Tribal Nation.

Importance: Visual hallucinations are a core feature of dementia with Lewy bodies and primary psychiatric disease, yet identification of a hallucination vs normal spiritual experience depends on cultural context. Almost no information exists in the medical literature regarding normal spiritual experiences in American Indian participants in the context of a neurocognitive evaluation. Objective: To assess the characteristics of a normal spiritual experience in an Ojibwe Tribal Nation. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted between August 1, 2021, and August 31, 2022, among an Ojibwe Tribal Nation in northern Minnesota. Participants were evaluated at their tribal nation clinic. Cognitively unimpaired tribal Elders who were enrolled members of the tribal nation and aged 55 years or older were invited to participate via fliers, radio advertisements, and health fair presentations. Thirty-seven tribal Elders volunteered. Main Outcomes and Measures: Each participant was asked whether they experienced hallucinations or visions of people, animals, or objects that are not part of the physical world. This was an a priori formulated question and part of a comprehensive neurocognitive evaluation consisting of history and physical examination (including cognitive screening with a subspecialty-trained behavioral neurologist); blood tests for metabolic, nutritional, and thyroid conditions; and noncontrast magnetic resonance imaging brain scan. Four patients were excluded from the present analysis due to having mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Results: Thirty-three cognitively unimpaired tribal Elders (mean [SD] age, 66.0 [7.5] years; 22 women [67%]) were included. Sixteen (48%) answered affirmatively, reporting recurrent visions of the nonphysical world. Generally, these visions were well formed, benevolent in nature, and transient; started in preadolescence; involved spirits or ancestors; and were congruent with cultural and spiritual beliefs of the Ojibwe people. No patients had accompanying dream enactment behavior, dysautonomia, parkinsonism, sleep transition-related hallucinations, or moderate to severe depression to suggest a prodrome of an α-synucleinopathy, hypnopompic or hypnagogic hallucinations, or psychosis. Conclusions and Relevance: Although based on only 1 Ojibwe Tribal Nation, this study suggests that formed visions of the nonphysical world are common among cognitively healthy Ojibwe individuals and can represent normal spiritual experiences. Clinicians would benefit from careful consideration of cultural or spiritual context to avoid misdiagnosis of neuropsychiatric disease.

A Unified Multimodal Interface for the RELAX High-Payload Collaborative Robot.

This manuscript introduces a mobile cobot equipped with a custom-designed high payload arm called RELAX combined with a novel unified multimodal interface that facilitates Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) tasks requiring high-level interaction forces on a real-world scale. The proposed multimodal framework is capable of combining physical interaction, Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) radio sensing, a Graphical User Interface (GUI), verbal control, and gesture interfaces, combining the benefits of all these different modalities and allowing humans to accurately and efficiently command the RELAX mobile cobot and collaborate with it. The effectiveness of the multimodal interface is evaluated in scenarios where the operator guides RELAX to reach designated locations in the environment while avoiding obstacles and performing high-payload transportation tasks, again in a collaborative fashion. The results demonstrate that a human co-worker can productively complete complex missions and command the RELAX mobile cobot using the proposed multimodal interaction framework.

Belief in COVID-19 related conspiracy theories around the globe: A systematic review.

Conspiracy theories have been widespread in public discourses about COVID-19. Belief in conspiracy theories has negative effects on COVID-19 protective and preventive behaviour. However, evidence on the prevalence of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, remains fragmented. We conducted a systematic review on the adult general population prevalence of belief in different COVID-19 conspiracy theories at country and regional level around the globe. Searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases (end of search: March 22, 2022). We followed guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We identified 1637 potentially relevant titles in our search and included 33 studies in our review, reflecting conspiracy theory endorsement between March 2020 and August 2021. We found high belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories in most studies: 29 studies measured at least one conspiracy theory belief prevalence ≥20%. For several conspiracy theories, e.g. "Lab origin" or "Destabilization and power gain", prevalence was often between 20 and 50%. Our findings call for increased awareness about COVID-19 conspiracy theories and the need for tailored, context specific conspiracy theory preparedness, prevention and control. Development and integration of a public health oriented communication and infodemic management strategy, alongside the implementation of conspiracy theory endorsement risk assessments are essential for supporting public health policy in future health emergencies.

Dilemmas in rehabilitation and patient strategies in an intensive home intervention: a follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: The original project, where older persons received reablement performed by an interprofessional team showed success factors for IHR. However, since there is a lack of knowledge about why some persons do not recover despite receiving IHR, this study follows up patients' experiences of IHR. AIM: To describe older persons' perceived dilemmas in the reablement process within the framework of IHR. METHOD: 11 CIT interviews with participants who have previously received IHR, were analysed, interpreted and categorized according to CIT. The study was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. RESULTS: The results showed disease-related dilemmas, fatigue or pain so that participants could not cope with the prescribed exercises. New diseases appeared, as well as medication side effects made exercising difficult, and painkillers became a prerequisite for coping with IHR. Low self-motivation and mistrust towards the staff emerged like lack of trust due to otherness such as sex, cultural background, or language also became critical. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that consider individual- and contextual dilemmas are very important. By recognizing critical situations, this study can work as a basis of evidence to further develop interventions for older people living in their own homes and to ensure them to stay there.

Feasibility of a Community Healthy Eating and Cooking Intervention Featuring Traditional African Caribbean Foods from Participant and Staff Perspectives.

Culturally appropriate healthy eating resources are intended to help people from different ethnic backgrounds consume diets reflecting government dietary recommendations, yet evidence on use in the target groups is lacking. This study evaluated the feasibility of a new brief culturally appropriate community intervention that aimed to introduce food-based healthy eating and recipe resources featuring African Caribbean foods, which were recently co-developed with people from these ethnic backgrounds. Working with a community organization in the UK, a single-arm study was used to collect verbal data from participants and staff on the acceptability of intervention whilst knowledge, skills and behaviours related to healthy eating were evaluated using pre-, post- and follow-up questionnaires. A total of 30 participants were recruited, and 22 completed all three questionnaires; who were mostly female aged 55 years+ (n = 17) and of African Caribbean ethnicity (45%, n = 10), with 32% (n = 7) reporting no educational attainment. At post-intervention and follow-up, most participants reported high satisfaction (n = 21, 95%) with the intervention sessions and high levels of confidence in using the resources at home within budget. The number of participants who were familiar with the healthy eating guidance featuring Caribbean foods increased from pre- (36%, n = 8) to post-intervention/follow-up (n = 22, 100%) (p < 0.05). Findings suggest the intervention is feasible in a community setting and could help increase awareness and use of culturally appropriate healthy eating guidance amongst a diverse group.

Drivers' Mental Engagement Analysis Using Multi-Sensor Fusion Approaches Based on Deep Convolutional Neural Networks.

In this paper, we present a comprehensive assessment of individuals' mental engagement states during manual and autonomous driving scenarios using a driving simulator. Our study employed two sensor fusion approaches, combining the data and features of multimodal signals. Participants in our experiment were equipped with Electroencephalogram (EEG), Skin Potential Response (SPR), and Electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors, allowing us to collect their corresponding physiological signals. To facilitate the real-time recording and synchronization of these signals, we developed a custom-designed Graphical User Interface (GUI). The recorded signals were pre-processed to eliminate noise and artifacts. Subsequently, the cleaned data were segmented into 3 s windows and labeled according to the drivers' high or low mental engagement states during manual and autonomous driving. To implement sensor fusion approaches, we utilized two different architectures based on deep Convolutional Neural Networks (ConvNets), specifically utilizing the Braindecode Deep4 ConvNet model. The first architecture consisted of four convolutional layers followed by a dense layer. This model processed the synchronized experimental data as a 2D array input. We also proposed a novel second architecture comprising three branches of the same ConvNet model, each with four convolutional layers, followed by a concatenation layer for integrating the ConvNet branches, and finally, two dense layers. This model received the experimental data from each sensor as a separate 2D array input for each ConvNet branch. Both architectures were evaluated using a Leave-One-Subject-Out (LOSO) cross-validation approach. For both cases, we compared the results obtained when using only EEG signals with the results obtained by adding SPR and ECG signals. In particular, the second fusion approach, using all sensor signals, achieved the highest accuracy score, reaching 82.0%. This outcome demonstrates that our proposed architecture, particularly when integrating EEG, SPR, and ECG signals at the feature level, can effectively discern the mental engagement of drivers.

Fast Three-Dimensional Posture Reconstruction of Motorcyclists Using OpenPose and a Custom MATLAB Script.

Ergonomics focuses on the analysis of the interaction between human beings and their working environment. During the riding of a motorbike, ergonomics studies the rider's posture on the motorbike. An incorrect posture can lead to physical and psychological discomfort, and can affect the perception of risk and the handling of the motorcycle. It is important for motorcyclists to adopt a good riding posture, for their health and road safety. The aim of this work is to propose a fast, cheap, and sufficiently robust method for the 3D reconstruction of the posture assumed by a motorcyclist. The stereo vision and the application of OpenPose made it possible to obtain a 3D reconstruction of the key points, and their evolution over time. The evaluation of the distances between the 3D key points, which represent the length of the various parts of the body, appears to remain sufficiently stable over time, and faithful to the real distances, as taken on the motorcyclist themself. The 3D reconstruction obtained can be applied in different fields: ergonomics, motorsport training, dynamics, and fluid dynamics analysis.

Efficient precision editing of endogenous Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genes with CRISPR-Cas.

CRISPR-Cas genome engineering in the unicellular green algal model Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has until now been primarily applied to targeted gene disruption, whereas scarless knockin transgenesis has generally been considered difficult in practice. We have developed an efficient homology-directed method for knockin mutagenesis in Chlamydomonas by delivering CRISPR-Cas ribonucleoproteins and a linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) donor into cells by electroporation. Our method allows scarless integration of fusion tags and sequence modifications of proteins without the need for a preceding mutant line. We also present methods for high-throughput crossing of transformants and a custom quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based high-throughput screening of mutants as well as meiotic progeny. We demonstrate how to use this pipeline to facilitate the generation of mutant lines without residual selectable markers by co-targeted insertion. Finally, we describe how insertional cassettes can be erroneously mutated during insertion and suggest strategies to select for lines that are modified as designed.